Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to flavoring concentrates. More particularly, the present invention relates to flavoring concentrate formulas that are optimized for rapid and complete dispersion in water.
Description of the Prior Art
The market for flavored beverages is a multibillion dollar industry, particularly in today's fitness conscious society. Prepared beverages are, of course, widely known. However, portability and storage of several servings of such beverages is cumbersome. A point-of-consumption flavoring composition solves the difficulties of portability and storage. However, preparation of point-of-consumption individual servings of flavored beverages has experienced limited acceptance due to the difficulty of achieving complete dissolution in cold water.
A variety of water-insoluble solids are useful ingredients in beverages. Examples of such water-insoluble solids include, without limitation, flavor compounds, taste modifiers, nutrients and colors. While these water-insoluble solids may be dispersed in non-aqueous solvent systems to form solutions, when such solutions are added to an aqueous finished beverage, the water-insoluble solids precipitate, crystallize or oil-off due to the overall dilution of the non-aqueous solvent in which the solids were dispersed. In addition, in the absence of suitable surfactant(s), water-insoluble solids often form large crystalline pieces or waxy or oily material floating on top in beverage concentrates and syrups, respectively. All of the above-noted phase separation phenomena, aside from the obvious negative aesthetic impact, prevent the effective delivery of flavor to a given beverage. Hence, there exists a dilemma in the formulation of beverages containing such water-insoluble solids. Several approaches have been taken to address this problem.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,610 to Hughes et al. discloses a dry instant beverage mix. The beverage mix employs propylene glycol and ethanol to aid in rapid dispersion. The beverage mix further employs pulverization of the mix to reduce the particle size and increase the surface area, thereby improving the speed of solubility and dissolution of the mix in water.
U.S. Patent Application No. U.S. 2004/0086619 discloses the use of surfactants for improving the solubility and dispersion of solids in water based beverages. The flavoring system disclosed employs carriers and solvents including propylene glycol, ethanol, and citric acid.
However, the prior art has associated disadvantages. For example, beverages containing encapsulations or emulsions are not optically, visually, clear, i.e., water-clear. Microemulsions, while optically clear and stable, rely on large amounts of co-solvents and large amounts of surfactants; the latter are typically present in an amount that is at least five to ten times the amount of water-insoluble solids present. Such a high requirement for the amount of surfactant has potential negative impacts upon beverage quality and manufacturing efficiency. A finished beverage having such large amounts of surfactant may have off-tastes. In addition, such a beverage may not be amenable to typical beverage manufacturing processes, e.g., the dilution of concentrate to syrup to finished beverage.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method of formulating stable, clear beverages containing water-insoluble solids which does not suffer from the above-noted problems. In order to obtain a flavored beverage having a consistency which consumers regard as acceptable, it is necessary to achieve rapid dissolution of a flavoring composition in cold water.
What is not appreciated by the prior art is a flavoring composition concentrate employing a rapidly dissolving concentrated flavoring composition having a flavor, a salt system, an acid, a sweetener, and a solvent present in an amount about 5 to about 30% % by weight of the flavoring composition, wherein the flavoring composition is optimized to provide rapid and complete dispersion in water. The present flavoring composition concentrate overcomes this deficiency in the prior art.
What is not appreciated by the prior art is a flavoring composition concentrate employing a densifier for rapid dispersion in water. The present flavoring composition concentrate overcomes this deficiency in the prior art by providing a flavoring composition concentrate having at least one densifier present in an amount suitable for optimizing dispersion of the flavoring composition in water.